Asterix e la pozione magica

The overall plot of this animated version of Astérix chez les Bretons is faithful to that of the book. As the latter is perhaps the best of all the Astérix volumes, this film could fare badly in the comparison. But whereas most of the Astérix films lose much in the transition to a dumbed-down, vaguely Hollywoodesque cartoon that I suppose is meant to appeal to children, Asterix in Britain manages to retain much of what made the original (written and drawn) version great. I haven't yet listened to any of the dubbed versions of the film, but the French is particularly clever in using native English speakers to play the roles of the Bretons.

Having seen this one many times as a kid, I wasn't sure I would still like it as an adult. To my positive surprise, however, it's filled with original ideas and jokes that may vary in subtlety, but remain at a funny level throughout. One may see this Astérix-episode as a respectful parody of British peculiarities, seen from a French perspective. The animation is quite beautiful at times.

This was funnier than I expected it to be. I mean, I love the Asterix books but I rarely laugh out loud at them. The animated adaptation also managed to be cleverer than the book in certain instances, though some of the dialogue was unnecessarily changed in others. Something struck me about the character animation, as well, as some characters seemed to be better animated than others. I realize this is probably because different artists were assigned to different characters, but I wish a greater effort at consistency was attempted. These are minor points. This is great fun, for everyone, even if it says "Just for Kids" (the name of the company, I think) on the box.

The year is approximately 50 B. C , Britain is entirely occupied by the Romans commanded by Julius Caesar . Well , not entirely.. One small village of indomitable Bretons still holds out against the invaders . And the life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps . Similarly happens on Gaul , where a small village located in Armorica live our friends , the intelligent hero Asterix , the menhir delivery and addicted to wild boar Obelix, the venerable Panoramix with his potion which gives the drinker incredible energy, the majestic,hot-tempered, brave chief of the tribe Abraracourcix... There come a Asterix's cousin asking for help against Romans. As always the perilous mission is immediately trusted to shrewd and cunning Asterix . Obelix , ready to drop everything and go off on a new adventure with Asterix ; then they set out to deliver a barrel plenty of powerful potion getting superhuman strength and brewed by druid Panoramix . His mission transport it for the Britons and vanquish the invaders Romans.

The picture brilliantly retrieves the humour , strong satire and adventures of the original story . This is a nice adventure with hilarious moments here and there , and it has Asterix and his inseparable partner fighting , as always , against stupid Romans . Full of habits critical about actual British way of life and modern anachronisms that's common thing in comic books . The cartoon movie splendidly captures the outrageous adventures , tongue-in-cheek , irony , comedy from comic book story with the same title and drawn by Albert Uderzo and writing credits by Rene Goscinny . As usual , on the finale the village people eating boars in a gargantuan lunch and the Bard Cacofonix tied a tree and being accompanied by a lively musical score by Vladimir Cosma with a catching song on the start and the ending . The film will appeal to Asterix and Obelix fans , it's an funny entertaining for kids and grown-ups and nostalgics.

Before the British can ask themselves what the Romans can possibly do for them they are not too terribly pleased with the bothersome invasion. Anticlimax, cousin of Asterix, sneaks off to Gaul for help. Getafix makes a barrel of magic potion and Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix courier it back to Britain. Many, many beaten, bruised, and broken Romans make the mistake of getting in their way.

The jokes and visual humor just don't stop. You'll be grinning from ear-to-ear when watching Asterix in Britain. The animation has such a detailed quality to it that the film nearly rivals vintage Disney. The music too, is also lovely. A score CD was produced in France, but it's long out of print. Bill Oddie is the voice of the little warrior this time around, while amusing English stereotypes fill out the rest of cast.

A favorite of mine since I was a kid, I first saw Asterix in Britain on BBC2 one Xmas morning. I nearly wore out the tape I recorded it on. My advice, buy the DVD. Even for kids raised on CGI it's a winner.